Master Meji is a man who has made some of the most brilliant and vital strategies against the Separatists military during this war. Most known for his apparent lack of...well...hair, many do not know that he has a blinding tactical mind, and that it is his plans alone that have helped achieve so many victories. His name in generations to come will become synonymous with bravery and true heroism in the face of danger.
— A Holonet News reporter details the exploits of Senu Meji during the last year of the Clone Wars
Senu Meji, was a human Jedi Master during the final years of the Old Republic. A man considered to be one of the most skillful jedi during that time period, Meji hailed from a humble existence as the son of trading merchants who set up shop on Mon Calamari, he was taken for training as a jedi at the age of eight months by the Jedi Watchman of the planet. During his first years at the Jedi Temple, he was educated in the Sarlacc clan, until one day during a sparring session between students he was noticed by an upstart Jedi Master by the name of Dooku. Dooku, who was reeling over the loss of his second apprentice, Komari Vosa, decided to take a new apprentice to show the council that he was still able to teach apprentices competently. Senu's apprenticeship under Dooku was rigorous and, at some times, dangerous, but Senu was promoted none the less to the rank of Jedi Knight in 30 BBY. Soon after this, Senu himself took himself a padawan, a young Corellian student by the name of Sarrissa Jeng. Jeng proved to be more than a handful for Meji, but in the end, Senu's rigor and discipline prevailed and in 23 BBY, Sarrissa was promoted to the rank of Jedi Knight, thus giving Senu the prestigious title of Jedi Master. Senu, only being twenty-six at the time, was considered a rising star by various members of the Jedi Council, despite having the sitgmata of being the last apprentice of Count Dooku, who had voluntarily left the Order in 32 BBY.
It was at this time that Senu Meji would gain an old family heirloom that he would keep with him for the rest of his life, and eventually pass onto his son, a double bladed purple lightsaber. The lightsaber, which had belonged to his ancestor Aurov Meji, had been stored away in the secret vaults of the Jedi Archives per the will of the Jedi Master, Senu came into possession of the blade per the request of the Archive Librarian Jocasta Nu. Coming into possession of the blade was one of the last events before Senu, like all the other Jedi in the Order, was thrown into war, when in 22 BBY, Senu and his former apprentice, along with a strike team of over two hundred other jedi, raced to save the lives of Obi-Wan Kenobi, Anakin Skywalker, and Padme Amidala. During the battle in the Petranaki Arena, Senu was wounded in the arm by the fire of a Super Battle Droid, his former apprentice, however, was not so lucky, and was struck down by the fire of a Droideka. Escaping the Arena alive, Senu returned back to the Temple where he would recover from his injuries and soon after take command of the 55th Control Legion at the start of the war, amongst other battalions. Senu would go on to lead his troops to several vital victories during the war, including conflicts on Trandosha, Talamo, Jirden'a, and Korriban. During the course of the war, Senu would have several duels with his former master, Count Dooku, and would eventually be able to best his former master in combat in the underlevels of Coruscant at the end of the war, although Dooku was able to escape. The Clone Wars soon came to a close, and during the Battle of Coruscant, Senu was tasked with protecting the Jedi Temple during the Battle, effectively sparring the temple from the wrath of the invading droid forces, Meji was commended for his actions by Mace Windu shortly after the battle. Senu, at this time, was quite happy, knowing that the quick action of himself and the rest of the Order spared Coruscant from a genocide, until he found out about the death of his master on the Invisible Hand. Hearing from other Jedi that the one who killed his former master was none other than Anakin Skywalker. Senu was present at the temple during Operation Knightfall and was one of the only Jedi Masters to be captured alive during the battle, being knocked out by members of the 501st Legion and transported to a Republic, later Imperial, prison on Manaan where he awaited execution by the New Order.
Biography[]
Early life[]
Dooku: “Concentration is the key to all things…If we allow ourselves to be taken by the thought of one thing or another, the true essence of the spirit is gone. Including our ability to know what is right and wrong.”
— Senu Meji and Dooku speak during a training session.
Senu: “Master, If the mind and spirit are both gone, if the ability to make judgments and think is gone, are we, in essence, obsolete?”
Dooku: “I sense your feelings, do not assume everything my apprentice…you are too caring, loving, a Jedi Knight does not need these things!”
Senu: “As you teach, I learn, Master.”
Senu Meji was born to two wayward traders named Garu and Kashi Meji, who had founded a lucrative trading post in Coral City, Garu, who was of Onderonian descent and grew up in Iziz City, eventually fell in love with his wife Kashi Erast-Meji, who was the daughter of archeologists who had made their way to Ossus to study the artifacts there. The two decided to start a new life selling the artifacts found by Kashi's parents after their deaths on Mon Calamari, making fairly good business selling the goods to wealthy Mon Calamarians and Quarren alike. In 55 BBY, the Meji family gave birth to their first son, named Raviston, unfortuatly, they had the son during a economic downturn on Dac, which made them unable to care for Raviston properly. This led to the decision by the Meji family to give up Raviston for adoption, rather than have him placed in a family he did not know, Garu's brother, Maragon, who had made a fortune in the military arms industry and eventually created the Meji Estate on Corulag, decided to adopt the boy into his own family. Garu and Kashi would eventually come to regret the decision, and in 49 BBY, they had their second son, Senu, from his birth his family knew that he was unlike any other child they had ever seen. On the eight month anniversary of his birth, the Jedi Watchman of the system appeared at the Meji residence, claiming to have sensed the young child's potential. Although worried at first, the Meji family allowed young Senu to be taken by the Jedi to their temple on Coruscant to learn the ways of the Jedi Order. During his younger days at the Temple, Senu was trained under Master Yoda, as all young jedi were at sometime during their training. At the standard age all younglings were put into their clans Senu was placed into Sarlacc clan, a clan designed to teach younglings the purpose of using the force for research and study. Senu, whose skills in both historical research and lightsaber combat training, was seen as an outsider by many of his fellow students, except one who eventually became his friend. Senu, in his first duel as a youngling, battled a small, timid Quarren named Metu Qoara, who hailed from the same home planet as Senu. While the two fought each other with each gaining ground at certain points, it was Senu who would prove victorious. After this duel, a Jedi Master approached Senu, asking him if he would like to be taken on as an apprentice, ecstatic, Senu agreed and with approval from Yoda himself, Senu graduated from Sarlacc clan and placed under the tutelage of his new master, a Jedi named Dooku.
Dooku soon realized that Senu Meji would prove to be a handful for him, having just lost his last apprentice, Komari Vosa after the devastating Battle of Galidraan, Dooku was hesitant to have another apprentice, fearing the loss of yet another one of his students. Yoda, in an attempt to console his former apprentice, asked him to watch Sarlacc clan to seek out potential apprentices, which is when he found Senu Meji, whose skills reminded him of his own as a child. Dooku would soon test young Senu in ways he would never expect, long sessions in the pouring rain, study sessions that would last days, and lightsaber combat training with actual lightsabers, which would end up giving Senu a scar on his arm due to a mistake he made while training with Dooku. Eventually, Senu would prove himself to Dooku, eventually becoming a padawan known for his skill, mental wit, and unorthodox handling of situations. In 30 BBY, Dooku advised to the Jedi Council that his third apprentice was ready for the trials. During his trials, Senu was faced with battling the fierce Sith lord known as Darth Cognus, Senu who was well known for flirting with many female jedi, including a brush with Master T'ra Saa, had to not only deal with the ferocious fighting style of this sith lord, but her dark beauty as well. Senu succeeded in defeating the Trial, and moved onto the next trial. Senu's Trial of Courage came not from the Jedi Council, but from a terrorist attack on the Jedi temple during his Trials, the Koru-Kra Trise, an elite Nemoidian terrorist organization, sent suicide bombers around the Galaxy in retaliation for the acts of the Trade Federation, one such attack was at the public Meditation center inside the Temple. The attack, which brought down several pillars in the atrium, killed hundreds of civilians and Jedi alike, during the chaos, Senu and Dooku ran into a young apprentice desperately trying to save her masters' life, the girl was Myana Trikoa.
Saving many lives that day, Senu used his long nights studying for Dooku to his advantage, as he had learned ancient Jedi healing techniques due to them. Senu passed his Trial of Courage with flying colors, and even gained the chance to be thanked for his bravery by the Supreme Chancellor of the Republic himself, Finis Valorum. Senu's Trial of the Flesh would be a terrifying experience for the young Jedi, it involved him having face a dark jedi in a simulacrum battle, the Jedi, who he had fought on a simulated Korriban, soon turned out to be his ancestor, the fallen Jedi Aurov Meji. After defeating the Dark Jedi, Aurov Meji's face started to melt in a horrific vision, whilst his face melted off of his skull, Aurov lamented about falling to the Dark Side, as well as his betrayal of the Jedi Order after the Jedi Civil War. Senu defeated his ancestor but was mentally shaken, passing the test none the less. The final test of Senu Meji, the Trial of the Spirit, was truly the most challenging task the young Jedi had ever faced. It involved him battling his Master, Dooku, entranced in the Dark Side, while getting the upper hand, Senu saw visions of his future, the death of his Master at the hands of an unknown Jedi the Great Jedi Purge, the birth an important child to him, as well as his own death and the death of his eventual wife. At the conclusion of the Duel, Senu was forced to duel a version of an important person in his future, Myana Trikoa, who was fully immersed in the Dark Side. Passing this challenge, Senu was deemed worthy of passing the trials, and was Knighted as his Master looked proudly on. Senu Meji had become a Jedi Knight, and it was his turn to find his own apprentice.
The Teaching of Sarrissa Jeng[]
After Senu became a Jedi Knight, he began to notice the anger his former master started to possess towards the Republic, which was, in his opinion, collapsing under it's own corrupted weight. Senu, who was alarmed by this, chose to turn his attention towards finding his first padawan apprentice, as was customary for a newly christened Jedi Knight to do. While he searched, he came across a young Corellian girl, who possessed incredible skills in the fields of negotiation and espionage, this young girl, named Sarrissa Jeng, would end up becoming Meji's first apprentice. The training of Sarrissa Jeng by Senu took approximately six years, and during these years, Senu would be challenged with not only his impressive, yet sometimes stubborn apprentice, but also the departure of his former master from the Jedi Order in 32 BBY. Dooku's defection from the Jedi Order came as a shock to his former apprentice, who regarded his once proud and dignified master as nothing more than a fool for leaving, the last meeting the two had was the night that Dooku was about to leave. Knowing not that his master was leaving, Senu angrily confronted Dooku about the latter's misanthropic behavior, as well as his gathering knowledge of the dark side, which worried Senu greatly. Their meeting ended in a shouting match between the two, after which Senu stormed out, it would be the last time the two spoke as Jedi together, as Dooku later turned to the Dark Side and became the Sith Lord known as Darth Tyranus. Determined to make sure his apprentice did not follow the same path as his former apprentice, Senu diligently taught his student about the dark side of the force, in order to teach her the dangers of falling to it, in the mean time hearing of the disatrous Invasion of Naboo, as well as the death of Count Dooku's first apprentice, Qui-Gon Jinn at the hands of a "bloodthirsty Zabrak". These events only made Senu more determined to stop the spread of the Sith by all means, and to make sure his padawan was never harmed by one. Senu and Sarrissa continued to be master and apprentice until 23 BBY, when Senu decided that his padawan was ready for the trials, and with the approval of the council, Sarrissa Jeng was knighted, thus granting Senu Meji the title of Jedi Master at the age of twenty six.
The granting of Senu Meji as a master at such a young age worried some masters, like Ki-Adi Mundi, who thought that if the Council were to let younger Jedi become masters so quickly, they might loose sight of valuable learning time, potentially crippling the knowledge basis of the Jedi Order, but in general, the majority of the High Council supported Senu's promotion, especially the Master Of The Order, Mace Windu. Windu's admiration of Senu as a rising young star in the Jedi order soon gave way to a friendship that would extend until Windu's murder in 19 BBY, and would eventually become the deciding voice in allowing Senu to sit on the Jedi Council as a temporary seat holder while Council members were in combat during the Clone Wars.